Flush valve



ay 28, 1929. H. E. DARROW 1,714,591

FLUSH VALVE 7 Filed March 22, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 28, 1929. H, Row 1 1,714,591-

FLUSH VALVE Filed March 22, 1926 2 sheets-sheer 2 Patented May 28 1929.1 UNITED STATES 1.114.591 PATENT OFFICE.

- .nmw EDGAR DLRBOW, or sun BARBARA, cnmronm l nus]! vnma Application filed mm. 22, 1826. swarm. 90,539.

This invention relates to improvements in flush valves.

An object of this invention i's'to provide an improved flush valve of novel and simple construction which is very eflicient in operation and which is noiseless.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved flush valve in which the valve proper is opened and closed by the pressure of fluid supplied to the valve.

A further object of this invention is to provide a flush valve of-small compact construction in which the various parts are so arranged as to cause the valve to present a neat and attractive appearance.

A still further object of this invention isto rovide a simplified actuating mechanism which will cause the valve to be opened its maximum amount and then automatically closed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the improved flush valve and may be considered as having been taken upon the line 11 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the valve taken from the inlet side,

Fig. 3 is ahorizontal' sectioniaken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, and I Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the valve in its open position, and also illustrating a slightly modified form of construction.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the improved fiush valve consists of a valve body 10, which provides a cylinder 11. on the valve body there are provided an inlet 12 and an outlet 13, the inlet and outlet being preferably arranged at about 90 deg. to each other. Both the inlet and the outlet communicate with the, cylinder 11 adjacent its lower end. The top of the cylinder 11 is closed by means of a closure 14, and a by-pass 15 establishes communication between the inlet 12 and the upper end of the cylinder 11 immediately below the bottom of the closure 14. The by-pass 15 has the rate of flow through it varied or adjusted by a needle valve 16 which is compressing packing 18 a outthe stem to The stem of the needle prevent leakage.

packing gland are protected valve and the by a cap 19.

. The closure 14 is threadedly mounted upon the upper end of the valve body 10 and has a downwardly extending stem 20 .on which there is a flange 21 which fits within the valve body It). A valve 22 has its stem 23 slidably extending through the stem 20 and the closure 14 and through a gland 24. On the upper end of the stem 23 there-is mounted a push button 25 which is slidable within the gland 24, but is urged into its uppermost position by means of a coil spring 26. The c01l spring 26 urgesthe valve 22 into closing pos1t1on, closing a port 27 which communicates with radial passages 28 formed in the stem 20. The port 27 together with the pas-' sages 28 and the annular chamber about the stem 20 form the entrance to a by-pass 29 which connects the upper end of the cylinder 11 with the outlet 13.

Slidable within the cylinder 11 is a piston 30 which has a piston rod 31 on which is formed a flange 32 of the same diameter as the diameter of the piston. On the bottom of the piston rod .31 is a valve closure 33 adapted to seat upon and close the outlet 13. The valve closure 33 is somewhat smaller in diameter than the diameters of the flange 32 and the piston 30. An adjusting stem 34 is threadedly mounted upon the piston 30, and by screwing this stem downwardly or unscrewing it upwardly the lift, or upward movement of the valve can be varied. The flange 32 serves several functions, one of which is to establish a guide beneath the piston 30 and above the valve closure 33, it being understood that this flange fits the cylinder 11 as well as the piston 30. It also 7 defines a chamber indicated at 35 immediately below the bottom of the piston.

The operation of the improved flush valve is as follows: Water or other fluids is applied to the valve through the inlet 12 and normally the cylinder 11 both, above and below the piston is filled with water. The pressure of the water when the valve is closed beneath the piston is thesame as that which is in the cylinder on top of the piston and within the by-pass 15. To open the valve, the push button 25 is pressed downwardly, causing the valve. 22 to become unseated and releasing let by-pass 29.

pressure in the cylinder above the piston, enabling the water to escape through the out- The release of the pressure on top of the piston causes the pressure below the piston to be the greater, and as the valve 33 is much smaller in diameter than the diameters of the flange 32 and the piston 30, there will be a resultant force exerted by the pressure, which lifts the piston and unseats the valve 33. As soon as the valve 33 is unseated, water passes from the inlet 12 through the cylinder and out the outlet 13, and the flow of water through the outlet tends to create a sharp vacuum within the by-pass 29, causing more water to flow out of the cylinder 11 through the closure 14 and thus enabling the piston to rise farther and thus open the outlet more completely. The piston rises until the adjusting stem 34 strikes the top or valve 22, but usuall there is no noise developed by this because 0 the cylinder on top of the piston. The spring 26 returns the valve 22 to its normal seating position when thepush button 25 is released, and in such position the valve is as shown in Fig. 4. When in this position it will be noted that the flange 32 is slightly below the top of the inlet 12, and water collects in the chamber 35 and piles up immediately below the inlet by-pass 15, developing a pressure at the bottom of the bypass 15 to force water through the by-pass past the needle valve 16. The water slowly flows through the by-pass 15 and thus replenishes the water supply in the cylinder 11 on top of the piston 30; and as this pressure developed on top of the valve will be at least equal to, if not greater than, the pressure on the bottom of the piston whileathe valve is open, the valve will slowly close. The rate of closing movement of the valve depends on how fast water runs through the by-pass 15, and this rate can be varied by the needle valve 16, so that the closing movement of the valve 33 can be made fast or slow. In practice it will be found that the closing of the valve is noiseless for the reason that as it approaches its seating position, the pressure on the under side of the piston 30 approaches the pressure developed on the upper side of the piston 30, and the last closing movement or the actual seating of the valve 33 is so slow that there is no noise. The adjusting stem 34 which adjusts the upward movement of the piston 30 accordingly adjusts the amount of opening movement of the valve 33, so that the quantity of water flowing through the valve when the valve is in its fully open position can be varied.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the flush valve illustrated is very similar to the construction shown in Fig. .1 with the exception that instead of using tapered closures formed of metal which seat on tapered metallic seats, the construction in. Fig. 4 illustrates the use of valve closures having packthe Water cushion maintained in ing indicated at 36 and 37, which engage without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A flush valve comprising a'valve body providing a cylinder, an inlet and an outlet communicating with the cylinder adjacent one end, a by-pass connecting the inlet with v the other end of the cylinder, a second by-pass connecting the mentioned other end of the cylinder with the outlet, means for opening and closing said second by-pass, a piston reciprocable in the cylinder, a piston rod connected to the piston and extending therebelow, a closure. carried by the piston red at its end adapted to seat upon and close the outlet,

and an annular flange on the piston rod between the piston and the closure, said flange fitting the cylinder closely and being so arranged that when the valve is in closed position the flange will be near the bottom, but still some distance above the bottom of the inlet whereby fluid entering said inlet will equalize its pressure on either side of said flange as and for the purpose specified.

2. A flush valve comprising a valve body providing a cylinder, an inlet and an outlet communicating with the cylinder adjacent one end, a by-pass connecting the inlet with the other end of the cylinder, a second bypass connecting the other mentioned cylinder with the outlet, means for opening and closing said second by-pass, a piston reciprocable in the cylinder, a piston rod connected to the piston, a closure carried by the piston rod adapted to seat upon and close the outlet, and a flange on the piston rod fitting within the cylinder midway between said piston and said closure, said flange being so arranged that when the valve is in closed position it will be near the bottom, but still some distance above the bottom of the inlet whereby pressure entering said inlet will equalize itself on either side of said flange, and an annular flange on the lower end of said piston closely fitting the cylinder, the piston being cut away above the flange to a point at least as high as the top of the inlet when the valve is in closed position, and means limiting the opening movement of the piston'when the second bypass is opened, so as to maintain said first mentioned flange opposite the inlet as and for the purpose specified. 3. A flush valve comprising a valve body providing a cylinder, an inlet andan outlet adapted to engage the top of said cylinder so as to adjustabl limit the open'movement ofcommunicating with the cylinder adjacent one end, a by-pass connecting the'inlet with upon and close the outlet, and a flange on the piston rod fitting within the cylinder midway between said closure and said piston, said; flange being so arrangedthat when the valve is in closed position it will be located near the bottom, but still some distance above the bottom of the inlet, and. an adjusting stem threadedly mounted upon said piston the piston an 7 closure carried thereby.

4. In a valve of the class described, a valve body providin a cylinder, an inlet and an outlet communicating with the cylinder adjacent one end, a closure on the other end of the cylinder, a releasing outlet provided in the center of the closure, a valve for opening and closing the releasing outlet, said valve having a stem extending upwardly through the closure, a'push button on top of the stem, spring means urging the valve into closed position, a piston reciprocable in the cylinder, a piston rod depending from the center of said piston, a valve closure operable by the piston and mounted on said rodto open and closethe outlet,and a flange intermediate said closure and said piston 'close- 1y fitting the'cylinder and operable in a portion of said cylinder adjacent said inlet whereby pressure may equalize itself on either side. of said flange, said flange being adapted to occupy a position when the valve is in closed position, about one-third the height of the inlet above the bottom of the inlet, and means for conveying fluid pressure from the inlet to the cylinder upon the other side ofthe piston from the closure.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HENRY EDGAR DARROW. 

